Children
by DJ Madcat
Summary: If Saiyuki has Gaiden, then Vandread can have this. 100 years before Vandread, this takes place in one of the colonial ships. A Hibiki/SEIM(Someone else in mind) fic with an unexpected pairing! Pls> R&R!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Author's Notes: This takes place before they get put into cold sleep. The thought hit me as I began working on the 5th chapter of my War of the Titans (WotT) fic. This is a Hibiki/SEIM (Someone Else In Mind) fic. You'll see what I mean when you read it. Heh, heh, heh. Ahem. I made Hibiki a little older here, since he was originally two years when put into cold sleep, 'cause I'm going to put interaction here, you know! I hope Fizzy, not you mention you guys, like it. If you don't, well, please give it to me lightly. Please review, but no flames, please. Flames literally tear through my mind and destroy my confidence in writing. I've already gotten enough from Fizzy's scolding 'For I have Tasted the Fruit'.

Disclaimer: I don't own Vandread. I don't own Saiyuki either. I'm just a kid who wishes he did, the product of which is writing down rabble known as fanficiton.

Children By DJ Madcat 

            The vast colonial fleet lumbered through the dark emptiness of space, carrying its population of colonists in their ships. Their destination: what lay beyond the approaching magnetic storm. 

On board one of colonial vessels, what later was going to become the rogue pirate ship known as Nirvana, was the commanding officer, later to be known as GrandPa, his family, and his acquaintances.

            "Alberto, what's the status of the Pexis?" The man inquired.

            The Spanish engineer appeared on screen, his background lit by the eerie blue light of the sphere, "Well, sir, it looks like she can hold out through the magnetic storm. How's about the negotiations on your side?"

            "Anli and I have agreed on one thing. The men and women will separate with the ladies under her administration and the gentlemen under mine. We'll put everybody into cryo-hibernation before we get to the magnetic storm. Anything else?"

            "Well," Alberto began to play with the hairs on his mustache, "Pexis has been acting quite strange recently. The design manager told me he picked it up somewhere underground on Mars. He says it may even be alive, and it sure as hell is acting that way!"

            "Acting in what way?"

            "We're talking about vibrations and fluctuations similar in rhythm to heartbeats, here, and it's starting to give me the creeps! Rumor even has it that there's another one back there on Earth that the government's toying around with." 

            "Now what in the name of Saint Francis would the government want with a glowing ball of pure energy? The Hyper-Photonic Generators that power the cities back home have at least a thousand times the output of this thing."

            "Beats me. Anyways, I'll be here till a while later, so call me anytime. See ya," with that, the head engineer of the UNS (United Nations Ship) Last Hope ended their conversation, returning to his duties. 

            Zen sighed. He had to get himself a new identity if he were going to become the patriarch of a strong male civilization. _What am I gonna do now, Grandpa?_ His grandfather had always been there to help him in such climactic decisions. 

Unfortunately, he suffered a fatal accident when Zen was younger. He never did get over the incident entirely, but made up for it by inheriting the mentality of his father's old man as he matured. _Grandpa… the idea lingered in his thoughts for some time, until he finally decided. __Thanks a lot, Grandpa! He smiled._

***

            "Come on, _Hibiki-kun! _Hayaku_! I want you to see this!" the blond-haired eight-year-old dashed down one of the hallways of deck C-4, a seven-year-old boy following behind her. Magno Vivan was lively today, mainly because her parents gave her permission to play with Hibiki just after breakfast. She was using the opportunity to show him something she found great interest in._

            "_Matte, One-san! I can't catch up!" the young sprout hollered. Alas, to his disappointment, Magno's speed increased. Hibiki sighed. That was the problem with girls, always too hyperactive. He quickened his pace._

            Magno was rounding a corner when she hit somebody and, since every action has an equal opposite reaction, fell to the floor. "Whoa, watch where you're going, kid. You might hurt yourself next time." She looked up to see a young man in his early twenties. 

His hair was in a tacky, spiky do, as crimson as his wine red eyes, his forehead marked with an imprint of some sort. He looked like the lazy kind of person, what with the way he dressed and stood, but the most prominent of his features was that he wore a wry smile, a cigarette between his teeth.

            Eyes widened, she smiled at realizing who he was, "_Ken ni-chan_! How are you? I haven't seen you for weeks!"

            Hibiki rounded the same corner a in a few moments, and skidded to a halt when he saw _him. Kenren Taisho, the coolest person to be with any time, was talking to Magno casually. The same Kenren Taisho who led the Mygas Tactical Unit to a flawless success in taking down the armed terrorist movement known as BALL (Big Apple Liberation League). _

            Rumor said he was a warrior god who had descended from heaven searching for a life of adventure. Then again, nobody would care anymore since nobody believed in the supernatural anymore. Rumors got crazier by the day. It didn't really matter that much, though; especially to children such as Hibiki and Magno. What mattered, however, was that Kenren was one of the best soldiers in the army, and one of the nicest people to be with.

            "_Oi, Ken-chan!"_

            Kenren turned to see a young seven-year-old boy with messy dark hair. He grinned, recognizing the son of Commander Zen almost immediately. "Hey, how're you doing over there, kiddo?" he outstretched his open palm to be met with a five from Hibiki's. "You're growing taller every time I see you!"

            "Yeah," Hibiki scratched his head, feeling awkward, "But not that much. I'll never grow as tall as you, though, _Ken-chan."_

            Kenren patted the child reassuringly on the back "Don't worry! You're still growing and have a long ways to go before you stop."

            "Are you sure?"

            Kenren smiled kindly, "Sure! I'd bet my year's worth of salary that when you grow old enough, you'd be the heartthrob of the girls of the colony!" his tone changed to seriousness as he eyed both of them, "Now remember, kids, be careful. You don't wanna get hurt. I've got to go, now." He waved goodbye as he disappeared around the corner.

            "_Ken-chan sure is cool, __ne, _One-san_?" no reply, "_One-san_?" Hibiki turned around just in time to see Magno round the next corner. Slapping himself on the forehead, he thought, __I should've known, as he took suit. _

***

            The bridge next to the Pexis was lit only by the said object's eerie blue glow as Magno Vivan traversed the crossing to the center, Hibiki Tokai not far behind. She finally stopped in the middle of the catwalk, grabbing hold of the railing and admiring the radiant azure sphere that was the only source of light in the chamber. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

            "What's so beautiful about it?" Hibiki answered through a series of pants.

            "The way it glows a sleepy blue, beating like a heart every now and then," She caught her right cheek in her palm, staring dreamily at the Pexis.

            The dark haired boy turned his attention to it as well, noting the increase in its pulsation as he did. A sigh from Magno caused him to look at her. He had known her all his life as an energetic, cheerful, and sweet girl. 

Always there when you needed her; always around to be your crying shoulder; that was Magno Vivan. The Magno Vivan Hibiki secretly cherished within the depths of his heart as somebody more than an older sister, more than a good friend. She was something else, something he couldn't quite put his finger on, or was, rather, being Hibiki, at the tip of his tongue.

            As he continued to ogle at the girl beside him, he realized that it was no longer the Pexis that was beating furiously, but was in fact, his very own heart. 

He stole another glance at the orb and noticed that it was throbbing in the exact same rhythm as he was. _What's going on?_ Before he could think anymore, he felt weightless and the next thing he knew, an infinitely large greenish blue field had surrounded him. 

            A voice rang out and shattered the silence, monotone and mechanical, _"Who are you?"_

            "Me? I'm Hibiki! Hibiki Tokai! Who are you?" he answered the unseen questioner.

            _"Hibiki… a sentient being Hibiki is, or some mindless organic body just?"_

            "How can you say that I am not sentient? Can't you see that I think? Who are you anyway!?"

            _"Many times during my journey, organic bodies I have seen. Display thought patterns very similar to Hibiki's, they do, and yet mindless they are. Thought waves use they as lures for prey when hunt they. Just because a life form thinks does not mean it is sentient."_

"What does that have to do with anything? And you haven't answered my question yet! Who are you!?" he was starting to get irritated with this Q&A period he was going through at the moment.

            _"Two qualities sentient beings, from where I come from, have. The ability to think one is, and the other…" the voice trailed off for a while, _"Test to see whether Hibiki possesses it or not I shall."  
  
__

"But who are you? Why are you doing this?"

            The voice seemed not to listen to him anymore, _"Explorer Unit: Class Pexis this is, Type Plagma, Separator Model, Authorization number 6813-A5, permission from Paradise requested sentience test of human race specimen number one to initialize in."_

            _Pexis… Just as he was about to speak, images from his past surrounded him, flashing one after the other, as though they were being analyzed and siphoned through a computer that was screening them. He could remember those times so well, along with the feelings that came with them. He saw the time when he got that bruise from running, and how Magno was quick to come to his aid, the time he was down and crying, and how she remedied that as well. _

            Then there was that time soon after the colonial fleet's departure from Earth, he and Magno were eating lunch when she asked him, "_Ne, Hibiki-kun, _what do you think about marriage?"

            This question caused him to flush a little, since he was thinking about her at the moment, how his life would be if her married her, how silly he must look right now, chewing on a packed sandwich while the redness became more prominent. "What about it?" he managed to reply.

            "I heard that when you're married to someone, you have to spend the rest of your life with him or her. 'Through sickness and health, through poverty and wealth.' Isn't that just romantic?" she said, eyes dreamy at the thought. 

            Secretly, Hibiki was as astounded as she was, although he kept it inside with a mask of indifference that was all but perfect thanks to his reddened cheeks, "Sounds like a nursery rhyme to me."

            "Yeah?" she contemplated this shortly and giggled childishly afterward, "I guess it does sound like a nursery rhyme!"

            There was that other incident on the beach, some time before they even left the Earth, when he clumsily tripped on a driftwood branch while they were walking and pinned her to the sands by accident. 

His heart throbbed appallingly, his form suspended above hers by only an arm's length, their eyes meeting and communing for some time before she broke the silence, "_Ano, Hibiki-kun, _we should get going now or our parents would get worried."

            "_H… hai_." He answered reluctantly, getting up. He gave her a hand as she sat up and began to stand. "I think we should be going now."

            She nodded in agreement, as they continued to walk back towards the picnic grounds. That was their last picnic on the beautiful blue and green planet that was known as the Earth. A couple of days later, packing was done, and the many families assigned to it boarded the UNS Last Hope, Flagship of the Colonial Fleet headed for the Mejeele-Tarak system.

            She was always the bouncy, happy-go-lucky type who just saw problems as little things. Lose an important object? Replace it. Fail an important examination? Take a retest. Get a cut from tripping? Use a bandage to cover it up. Little things never made her cry. Even slightly big things, like scolding from parents, she can take without crying. However, even bigger things such as death are a different story. They did make her cry.

            The only time he ever saw her cry was when Mickey, her puppy, died. He never thought that she had such a heart. Girls always cried at the silliest things… but then again, Mickey _was_ a living, breathing creature, and his death meant another loss of life. Maybe girls were more sensitive to those kinds of things, organisms died every day, but only they gave a damn.

            "He was such a good puppy!" she sobbed. 

            Hibiki placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder saying, "Don't worry about him, _One-san_! I'm sure he's gone to a better place." He could feel how much she loved that little pup. He was like a little brother to her… just like Hibiki.

            She looked back at him, eyes watery, and sadness evident, "_Argiato, Hibiki-kun_. I don't know what I'd do without you." she nuzzled herself against him, still sobbing at the painful event of losing one of your loved ones. Mickey was one of the most loyal and faithful friends anybody could have. He just happened to be hers. Her hug on him closed tightly, the strength intensifying tenfold.

            "What's wrong?" Hibiki asked her.

            "It's nothing," she whispered into his shoulder, "It's just that… that…" the tears burst once more, "I miss him so much!"

            "I know that," he replied soothingly, "But we can't do anything about it anymore. He's gone, and we'll just have to face that fact."

            She looked up at him, with those orbs that were so delicate, sniffled, and said, "You're right, _Hibiki-kun. We should just accept the truth." Her mood lightened up as she smiled that smile that made him feel somewhat waffy. _

            He was snapped out of the memories at once and was back in that ocean of green-blue. _"Analysis Completed. Presence of emotions confirmed and verified. Classification of human race: Sentient. So, with the presence of emotions, the second quality, sentient Hibiki and the human race are."_

            "You… Pexis. So the rumor was true, then."

            _"What rumor?" the voice answered asked._

            "That the Pexis is alive." Hibiki answered.

            _"Hmm. Analyzing me Hibiki is it appears. Say I must that it was nice to meet Hibiki, and that I will be seeing Hibiki later." As soon as the voice said it, Hibiki's world went black._

            When his eyes flew open, he felt a terrible pain in the back of his head. He realized that he was lying down on a bed in the infirmary, Magno sitting worriedly beside him. He turned his head to face her, the pain throbbing with every inch of movement. She smiled at him when she saw that he was awake. "How long have I been here?"  
  


            "A couple of hours. For some reason, you lost your balance and fell off the bridge. The doctor says your fall wasn't so bad, but you've suffered a minor concussion and will experience head pains for some time."

            That was when it hit him, the dream, the memories, and the realization, "_One-san?_"

            "_Hai?_"

            "_Magno-san… I have to tell you something." The moment of truth; now or never. He had to make his move at this point._

            "_Nani? __Hibiki-kun?"_

            "I… had a dream."

            "I know." She stopped him, "I had one too."

            His eyes widened at the thought, "Then that means you know… about Pexis."

            "Yes, I do. But more importantly," she turned her head to one side, blushing furiously, "I… I…"

            "I love you." at what he said, she faced him once more, eyes widened, cheeks burning red.

            "I love you too, Hibiki-kun." Was all she could reply before her mother came into the room, searching for her.

            "Magno? Magno? Are you here?" Elise Vivan parted the curtains to Hibiki's bed to see her daughter sitting next to the injured boy, holding his hands in her own while crying tears of joy at the event that was happening. Sure, she could handle little things, but this thing was far from little. This is what Magno Vivan wanted Hibiki Tokai to tell her since long ago. Their friendship was deeper than anybody ever knew, and it led to this.

            She placed a and on her daughter's shoulder, catching her attention. She smiled warmly at her child, saying, "Come on, sweetheart. It's time for us to get into cold sleep. I'm sure Hibiki can catch up soon, won't you?"

            Hibiki nodded silently, understanding the situation. That was when he noticed that both Magno and her mother were already wearing Sleep Chamber suits. He should be getting ready as well. He smiled inwardly as the girl in his dreams kissed him on the cheek saying, "I'll be waiting for you when we land on the new planet. Don't forget to hurry up when we do."

            "We're going to be the first people to set foot on it, and I'll make sure of that." He blew her a kiss as her mother slowly pulled her out of sight.

***

            Alberto sat alone in the engine room, savoring the brandy he had just taken out of the fridge. Observing the Pexis without company was boring. He had no one to talk to since the number of people in the skeleton crew that the UN recommended for the engine room was a maximum of one. He watched the luminescent sphere reverberate in rhythms similar to heartbeats. That was the usual case when he was bored. It was like Pexis was trying to cheer him up.

            An egg-shaped android entered the room, its vid-screen blank and snowy. Alberto noticed it come in and said, "What do you want, Unit 0366?"

            _"Very interesting the human race is. Correct Paradise was in sending me to observe this species." The Pexis in the person of Pyoro spoke._

            "Uh… whatever." Alberto saw through the cybernetic mask. It wasn't the navi-robot talking, but the Pexis. "So, what are your plans for the time being? You've already successfully analyzed our race and confirmed its sentience."

            _"To remain here and continue observing humanity the orders from Paradise are. Much to see Paradise has."_

            "Continue observing the human race? What for? You've already achieved your objectives of classifying us as sentient. What more do you want?" Alberto had always suspected the Pexis of being alive since its discovery, and has been openly conversing with it in private since their departure from Earth.

            _"Much to show us humanity has still, says Paradise. Therefore, in service of Paradise, continue to further research of humanity, Pexis must. _Wise in making decisions Paradise has always been; improve Pexis' mental maturity and grammar perhaps staying with humanity would. "__

            "That makes sense." Alberto chugged down the red liquid. "Want some?" he knew that offering liquor to a robot, more over a sentient avatar of some mysterious alien force was completely absurd, but he was partly drunk already.

            _"Then again," Pexis replied, _"Some negative attributes that humans possess there are. Such an attitude drinking is. Decline I must."_ _

            The Spanish engineer chuckled, "You aliens are always the ones to learn our jokes first, you know that?"

            _"Understand I not, this 'joke' concept, Alberto. Much more, I will learn if this 'joke' concept Alberto teaches me."_

            "Alright, then. Just sit back and listen to me. Jokes are told to make people happy and cause them to laugh…" his voice trailed off as the vision zoomed out of the engine room, and outside the window, revealing the UN colonial fleet nearing the magnetic storm, each ship preparing to brave the rigors of the said obstacle.

The End

Author's Notes: Uh, you might think that my grammar with Pexis is incorrect, but I did that on purpose to make it sound like Yoda or something. If you don't like the idea of two kids falling into something deeper than puppy love, then I won't force you to like it. Oh yeah, and Albert, if you, Ellis, and Emilzen are reading this with plans to write Blue all over the review board, then you can go to hell!!!! Why blue? Well, let's just say that they think yours truly has a crush on a certain blue-haired dread team commander, which I, with greatest sincerity, deny. That's it. Oh yeah. Please feel free to check out the quotes. 

QUOTES OF THE DAY—TOPICS: THE BUSINESSMAN'S VIEWS ON LIFE, A CONCEPT OF FOREVER.

"Life is merely an orderly decay of energy states, and survival requires the continuing discovery of new energy to pump into the system. He who controls the sources of energy controls the means of survival." 

—CEO Nwabudike Morgan

                                         'The Centauri Monopoly', ALPHA CENTAURI

                        "Eternity lies ahead of us, and behind. Have you drunk your fill?" = (with old lady voice and echoing effects)

                                    —Lady Deirdre Skye (Although I really think that it's the planet talking)

                                       'Conversations with Planet', Epilogue, ALPHA CENTAURI 


End file.
